St Kessog, or MacKessog

Commemorated March 10
This article is based on extensive research into this largely unknown saint. He
was in fact one of the very first Christian martyrs in Scotland.
or that and other reasons this article sets out his claim as Scotland!s true
"atron saint as well as examining the available documentation on his life and
death.
#efore the reformation$ %uss on %och %omond was one of the ma&or centres of
"ilgrimage in Scotland. 'eo"le came from far and wide to worshi" at the shrines
and holy "laces associated with Saint (essog. Since then however$ the cultus of
St. (essog has declined and been ecli"sed by others$ notably St. )inian$ St.
Columba$ St. Mungo and of course St. *ndrew.
St. (essog was born into the royal family of Munster in Southern +reland in
a""roximately ,-0 *... /ven as a child he revealed himself to be very "ious
and holy$ and we are told of one occasion when he was "0laying with
neighbouring "rinces while their fathers visited Munster. There was a terrible
accident and all the "rinces drowned exce"t St. (essog.
1hen the visiting kings discovered what had ha""ened$ they were very angry
and a ma&or war was only averted by St. (essog who$ after a night of "rayer$
brought the "rinces back to life. Such was his holiness that he was sent to a
monastery to be educated. +ndeed it is tem"ting to suggest that St. 'atrick$ who
travelled with a retinue of young "rinces and nobility$ might have himself taken
him to )endrum in County .own$ where he was "laced under the tutelage of St.
Machaloi.
+n due course$ and as a sign of res"ect$ St. (essog was sent to %ennox to carry
on the missionary work of St. Machaloi. *t that time %ennox was the northern
kingdom of the lands of Strathclyde$ which stretched as far south as )orthern
1ales. %ennox was considerably larger than now and reached as far east as
Stirling and .unblane and as far north as the 2reat 2len.
To the west of %ennox$ in what we now call *rgyll and #ute lay the kingdom of
the .al 3iata$ or the Scots as they were to become known. This was the "eo"le
who eventually were to con4uer the whole of )orth #ritain and give their name
to our (ingdom. To the east of %ennox lay the lands of the 'icts 5 a loose
confederation of clans and "etty kingdoms. Thus %ennox lay on the boundary of
the three nations.
The Celtic Church of this time was 4uite distinct from the 3oman Church. The
missionaries and monks followed a very sim"le life$ renouncing "ersonal wealth
or comfort and s"ending much of their time in meditation or worshi". This
contrasts with the gaudy wealth of the 3oman Church and its adherents$ who
also followed a secular role which was alien to the Celts.
St. (essog arrived at %uss at the beginning of the sixth century. He built a
monastery on the island of +nchtavannoch 6monk!s island7$ o""osite %uss$
which served as his base. 1ho gave him the land we do now know. #ut the
choice was brilliant. The +sland lies in a very strategic s"ot governing all traffic

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on the %och. +t also has a strange mystic beauty which 1illiam 1ordsworth for
one discovered to be most moving.
)othing remains of St. (essog!s monastery$ though very old ruins suggest a
later building on the same site. There was also an ancient monastic graveyard$
and late last century it was not uncommon for the farmer to "lough u" human
bones. There was also a cave on the island known as St. (essog!s cave$ which
was sadly destroyed in 19-0 6:7 when the area was blasted to "rovide building
materials.
%uss itself is a magical "lace. +ts name means herb or "lant$ and one legend
s"eaks of St. (essog being killed abroad and returned wra""ed in sweet herbs
which$ after his burial$ s"routed. *ttractive as this is$ there is no evidence to
substantiate it. +t is more likely that it derives its name sim"ly from the fact that
there are rich gra;ing grounds nearby.
+n the 1<th. and 19th. century it was located a day!s ride from .umbarton and a
half day from Tarbet$ and was famous for the length "eo"le lived to. Thomas
'enmann in 1<-= found six "eo"le$ including a minister and his wife$ aged
between 9- and =,. Thirty years later 3obert Heron in his book !Scotland
.elineated! says that %uss is !noted for the longevity more than number of its
inhabitants!.
St. (essog!s travels far and wide are documented through ancient 2aelic names
which "robably indicate his "resence. or exam"le the (essock Hill outside
+nverness got its name from him. This is interesting because it means that he
was involved in missionary work among the )orthern 'icts$ whose ca"ital was
near there$ forty or fifty years before St. Columba$ who is credited with bringing
Christianity to them. He also travelled extensively in (intyre and Cowal.
St. (essog was killed at #andry$ &ust to the south of %uss$ about >?0 5 @0 *...
%egend s"eaks of him being murdered by brigands or mercenaries. 1ho "aid
them we do not know$ but the fact that he was a successful missionary in the
area and that legend has it that he was killed on the druid!s new year 6March
?>th7 near an ancient druid site might let us construct a scenario that the druids
were behind his murder.
The site was marked by a cairn to which "ilgrims added stones as they arrived.
This cairn was removed in the 19th. century to allow the road to be widened.
+nside they found an ancient font and effigy which was taken to be a
middle5age re"roduction of St. (essog. +t now stands in the Church of
Mac(essog in %uss$ but it now seems that it was of 3obert Col4uhoun$ a #isho"
of *rgyll in the 1>th. century$ and was "robably "ut inside the cairn during the
troubles of the reformation to "revent it being damaged.
Sadly we have lost track of the holy relics of St. (essog. His cro;ier was in the
trust of the Col4uhouns who were the hereditary dewars or guards of St. (essog
and who may even be descended from him. +t was "robably hidden or
destroyed at the time of their massacre by the Mac2regors in 1-0@$ if not
before.
His bell$ which used to stand on Tom na Clas 6hill of the bell7 and called the
faithful to "rayer from all over the %och$ was sold to the /arl of 'erth in 1-<>$
who "robably bought the ancient hereditary title of Thane of %ennox at the
same time. * smaller bell was in service until the nineteenth century$ before
being moved to a memorial near the shore o""osite +nchtavannach before then
going missing$ "resumably stolen.
The reason for the reverence of St. (essog in "re53eformation Scotland is
difficult to ex"lain. or reasons unknown he ca"tured the imagination of the
common "eo"le in a way which St. *ndrew failed to do. +t may have been that
because he worked among the "eo"le they could identify with him as "art of
their community$ unlike St. *ndrew who was im"osed as a "olitical com"romise
by (enneth Mac*l"in 5 the Scot who united .al 3iata with the 'ictlands. +t may
be because of his bravery working on the boundary of three (ingdoms often at
war with each other. 8r his exem"lary life style of "overty and worshi".
1e may never know$ but within a short time of his death his name was the
rallying cry to troo"s all over Scotland and at the famous battle of
St Kessog http://www.stkessog.org.uk/st_kessog.htm
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#annockburn$ (ing 3obert himself incited the troo"s with the memory of St.
(essog. His holy cro;ier and relics led the victorious Scots into the battle which
was to set Scotland free.
Extracted from Luss Parish Church: Saint Kessog's saints day, by Donald
McKinney, whose permission is being sought.

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St Kessog's is a Parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Andrews and Edinburgh,
a Charity registered in Scotland - number SC008540
B St (essog!s$ #lanefield ?009 A .esign by #lae .esign
St Kessog http://www.stkessog.org.uk/st_kessog.htm
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